Trump scores major Republican primary victory as Cassidy ousted in Louisiana
Five and a half years ago after he voted to convict President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was sent packing by Republican voters...
By Fox News · Fox News
Five and a half years ago after he voted to convict President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial, GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was sent packing by Republican voters as he ran for re-election. Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming topped Cassidy in Saturday's GOP primary , according to The Associated Press. With no candidate cracking 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming will advance to next month's runoff for the Republican nomination. And Cassidy becomes the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012 While he wasn't on the ballot, Trump is a winner, as the primary in the solidly red state was the latest test of his endorsements in GOP nomination and of the president's immense grip over the Republican Party. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB The Louisiana primary was held a week and a half after Indiana's primary, where Trump-backed challengers ousted five sitting Republican state senators who last December teamed up with Democrats to defeat the president's push for congressional redistricting in the GOP-dominated midwestern state. Letlow was backed by Trump even before she entered the race in January. "Not only did he encourage me to get into this race, but also to have his complete and total endorsement has been, wow, the honor of a lifetime," Letlow told Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary. Trump's endorsement in the nomination race weighed heavily in a state he carried by 22 points in his 2024 election victory. "It's the most powerful endorsement in the world," Letlow said, adding that Louisiana Republicans "are huge fans of the president." Letlow was also backed by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, a top Trump ally. After cruising to re-election six years ago, Cassidy was one of only seven Senate Republicans who voted in early 2021 to convict Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 attack on…